Clark and Lois were making the most of living together, especially today as his parents had gone away for a few days.

Chloe was thrilled to have her cousin back but never did get the full story of why Lois had returned. Chloe tried grilling Lois at every opportunity to find out about Clark's mystery woman but she would not tell her anything. Chloe figured it was because she was living with the Kents and did not want to rock the boat.

That particular day Chloe decided to go to see Lois at the farm, but arrived to find Clark in his boxer shorts in the kitchen with some strawberries and whipped cream in his hand.

He looked at Chloe and snapped. "Don't people ever knock round here?"

"What's up with you? Ah I see, your parents are away and you have moved your girlfriend in to play your obviously sordid games."

"Now you are just annoying me." Clark replied abruptly. "You are not my mother, so why do you act like it."

"you need to grow up and smell the roses, Clark. This woman has obviously got you under some type of spell."

Lois had heard all of this from upstairs and decided to step in. She was not going to let Chloe talk to Clark like that anymore.

Chloe ran to the bottom of the stairs, "Come down whatever your name is."

Just then Lois came down stairs wearing just Clark's plaid shirt which was covered in cream.

"What the hell..." Chloe almost died.

"well, cuz you wanted to meet Clark's girlfriend. Well here I am."

"Since when..." Chloe was very embarrassed, shocked and jealous " In fact don't tell me, i will leave you two alone. I obviously interrupted something."

Lois and Clark were a bit taken aback with Chloe's attitude. Clark thought she was just being protective of Lois and was worried that he would hurt her like he did Lana. Lois, on the other hand thought it was jealousy.

Lois did not know if Chloe was still in love with Clark, but Chloe had always been Clark's best friend and maybe she was worried that Lois's relationship with him would affect that relationship.

Whatever it was Lois decided to go and pay Chloe a visit. She went into Met U, in the hope that Chloe was in her dorm. She just hoped Lana wouldn't be there. It could be awkward if Chloe had spilled the beans to Lana.

She knocked on the door and moments later, Chloe came to the door.

"Hi Chloe, can we talk. I don't want to leave things the way they are."

Chloe opened the door, walked away leaving Lois free to come in.

"I hate when we don't talk Chloe. What exactly is bothering you about me and Clark?" asked Lois

Chloe looked hurt. "You could have told me. You and Clark were probably laughing behind my back. So much for your new man in Bali. It was Clark, wasn't it?"

"Yeah it was, he kept popping over to see me when he could." Lois smiled.

"He must have been keen to keep flying out to see you, must have cost him a fortune." Said Chloe, knowing full well that Lois would not know about his secret. After all he had kept Lana in the dark.

"Not when he goes by the Clark express. Pity he cannot fly yet! " Lois grinned

"He told you." Chloe was shocked and slightly jealous that someone else knew about Clark. She liked being the only one that knew his secret.

"Yeah he told me everything after I witnessed some of his powers at the cabin. It is hard to believe he is an alien. He is so human." Lois added

"You two couldn't stand each other a few months ago, now you can't keep your hands off one another. Are you sure it is not infatuation?. After all you are Clark's first serious girlfriend, well apart from Lana, but as far as I know nothing happened between those two." Chloe was rambling.

"Something happened after he lost his memory. Beneath all the bickering, there was an attraction which surfaced during Clark's amnesia. Maybe it made him let his guard down. This is not lust, well it is... but it goes deeper than that." Lois gushed.

"I cannot explain it, but it is like we are meant to be." Lois continued.

Chloe had to admit that Clark seemed to be in love with Lois. "Lois, I have known Clark like forever and I admit he has strong feelings for you, going by the signals he is giving off. I'm just worried that you two get hurt."

Lois got to the point. "And you're jealous aren't you?"

Chloe looked a little sad. "Yes, I am. It will take me a while to accept it. I have feelings for Clark as you know. But he has made his choice and there is nothing I can do about, he has made it perfectly clear we are just friends."

"Chlo, you and him are so close. He loves you and would trust you with his life. You can tell the way he talks about you. That won't change, but neither will my feelings for him. I just hope we can get back to where we were."

"Lois, I am happy that you have found someone, but just give me time to get used to the situation."

Lois hugged Chloe tightly. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"Mind you, Lois. Lana may not be as understanding."

"Where is the ice princess anyway?" Lois inquired.

"She has moved into the mansion with Lex. She claims he offered her a free room as part of the Talon agreement, but I have my suspicions that there is more to it than that. " Chloe began

"There is an end of term ball on at Met U next weekend. Why don't you and Clark come? It would be the perfect opportunity to go public and the fireworks could be fun." Smiled Chloe.

"That's a deal. Please don't breathe a word to Lana." Lois begged.

"Ok I promise. " Chloe hugged her cousin.

Things had been a little easier since Lois cleared the air, although there was still a hint of awkwardness between Clark and his best friend. They hadn't seen much of each other whilst Chloe was at Met U anyway, although Chloe did make it home most weekends.

Lois ensured that her and her cousin still got to have girlie nights and shopping trips. As much as she loved Clark, Lois always maintained that it was healthy to spend time apart in a relationship.

Clark had not been surprised when he heard that Lana had moved in with Lex. He wasn't particularly overjoyed on hearing the news as he knew Lana would get hurt in some way. But she was an adult who was capable of making her decisions.

Clark was worried that he had pushed her into a relationship with Lex, but when he thought back he realised that Lana was spending a lot of time at the Mansion anyway before the breakup. You would think for the amount of time she spent there on Talon business that the Talon was a multinational corporation, not a little coffee shop in Hicksville, as Lois liked to call it.

Chloe had commented recently on the change in Lana since she moved into the mansion. She always arrived at Met U in a limousine, claiming at Lex's insistence, but even if it was Lana revelled in the attention it brought her.

She had also become very materialistic and often took Chloe on one her mega shopping blow out on Lex's credit cards. Chloe didn't like the new Lana and wondered if the Luthor's money and power had corrupted her or whether she had been like this all the time underneath that sweet exterior.

The night of the Ball arrived at Met U and it was going to be a busy night. Lana could not wait to show off her Swarovski crystal beaded dress and the jewellery Lex had given her. She literally was a million dollars. Life had changed considerably for Lana since the move. Lex was a very considerate boyfriend especially with the money. He ensured that she would not want for anything. She could tell that Chloe was jealous because she had been in a funny mood for the past few weeks.

Lana could not wait for the look on Clark's face at what he was missing, especially the breast enlargement that Lex had paid for. It would be a picture. No doubt Clark would have trouble controlling his feelings and would no doubt try and fight for her. She told Chloe that she hoped he would not make a scene, but she secretly hoped he would. She did not even know if she would go back to Clark when he begged for her to come back. He had nothing to offer her, compared to Lex.

It was going to be an interesting night.

Clark was in bliss. He got to spend loads of time with the woman of his dreams. His parents had been so understanding and welcoming to Lois. Prior to getting together with Lois, Clark always wondered if he would feel smothered he had someone living with him. Maybe he would have done with someone else, but not with Lois.

She was like a breath of fresh air. She loved him and seemed to be besotted with him and their relationship. But she never tried to change him, or tell him what to do. She was very laid back and accepting of most things. Of course they had their rows most couples did, including his parents, and they were one of the happiest couples around. The only downside of living with his parents were that they had to tone 'things' down occasionally, but since his dad started campaigning for Senate, his parents were away alot of the time.

Clark was looking forward to the Ball tonight especially when he could finally lay eyes on 'the dress' and in particular the woman in it. Lois could have worn a garbage bag and she would still be the most beautiful person in the world. However the dress is all Lois had talked about for the past week especially the fact she had got it half price. She loved her bargains.

Lois was taking ages to get ready. She wanted everything to be perfect. She wanted to please Clark like he always tried to do with her. She could not wait to see him in his tux, although she did prefer him with less clothes on. Her mind started wandering off as it did all the time since she and Clark got their act together.

She got her mind back on track. Clark was going to be late tonight, he had heard a news report to say about a major accident back in Smallville – a group of children had got trapped down a cave on a school trip. He wanted to go and help, and that obviously took priority over the Ball. Lois headed into Met U to get ready at Chloe's dorm.

The Ball was actually downtown and they had decided to be a little different and arrive in style in a Monster Truck. Lois always had to be different and was a closet fan of the Rallies. She arranged for one of her fellow fans to give her and Chloe a lift in his truck. Chloe was not too thrilled at first but then thought, why the hell not. Most people were arriving in limos and it was good to stand out from the crowd.

Unfortunately for Chloe and Lois – the truck would not start. Chloe was going to suggest that they get a taxi but she could see how keen on the idea Lois was to take the truck, she did not want to upset her. Clark would be a while anyway.

Lana and Lex had arrived a few minutes late so they could make a grand entrance. And it had the effect, Lana hoped. Everyone gasped when they noticed her dress and in particular how she was attached to the arm of one of the richest heirs in the US. Lana lapped it up. She could see a few women obviously making catty comments about her, but it was jealousy pure and simple.

Lex went straight to the stage and announced he would foot the drinks bill for the night. Everyone cheered. Lana loved the way people just fell at Lex's feet. He was so powerful. Lana was loving all the admiration people were giving her dress that she hardly noticed the arrival of Clark. She had to admit that he looked nice.

Clark arrived but could not see Lois, he was a little bit worried so he texted Lois to find out what was going on. His cell immediately bleeped to alert him that Lois and Chloe had been held up by twenty mins, but were on their way. Clark knew Lois was up to something. She was so unique and interesting, never following the crowd. That is one thing he loved about her, one of many things of course.

As he turned to go to the bar, the sight hit him and what a sight it was. He almost choked. Lana had obviously had a boob job .

God if the breasts weren't bad enough, the dress they were filling was. It looked like she had walked through a jewellery store. Talk about flaunting money. It just showed how shallow Lana had become. Thank god, he escaped from her clutches.

Lana could see she was having the desired effect. Clark did not know where to put his eyes, he could not meet her gaze. He had obviously realised what he was missing. She was going to make him pay for dumping her. She pretended she hadn't seen him and went up and give Lex a passionate kiss.

Seeing that kiss just proved to Clark that he was over Lana. There was not one ounce of jealousy. Lex was welcome to her. She was her own person and Clark was starting to realise that all along Lana had been a very selfish person, only interested in herself. Lois was just the polar opposite but where was she.